This paper: (1) briefly reviews the existing literature which supports that female adolescents possess significantly more negative attitudes toward middle school science than do males; (2) examines the process of gender socialization in the United States to establish the socio-cultural and social psychological framework within which an attitudinal change toward science (from elementary school to secondary levels) by female adolescents evolves; and (3) reports a study which proposes that four specific attitude change/formation theories (cognitive dissonance, modeling, self-perception, and operant conditioning) operate synergistically with gender-differential socialization processes to produce this phenomenon. Analysis of data (obtained from questionnaires administered to middle school students) suggests that Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance and B. F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning (contingent reinforcement principle) do indeed operate within the sex-role socialization process to explain how female negative attitudes toward middle school science evolve. Also, Daryl Bem's theory of self perception was intimated by student responses. Albert Bandura's theory of modeling was not indicated as facilitative in this process. Due to the supportive existing literature for the presence of such constructs in attitude formation however, the lack of modeling indicators may result from the instruments used rather than from theory inapplicability. (Author/JN)